MattMiller

I have heard, besides the timing belt, the door handle swap is the hardest and most frustrating. Any tech tips on this. I'll most likely order driver's side first as this is my daily driver.

John Pirtle

The door handle is pretty irritating but I have done it. There is not a lot of room but I'm a fairly average build guy and was able to get my hands in there. Small tools help. It was my drivers door too that broke - they aren't beefy parts by any means. Time and patience and you'll have it done in an afternoon.

87 a/t 251k

Randy V

Try a search - there are several detailed write-ups with pictures out there.

When followed, the job is a bit tedious but not difficult.

Biggest Tip is to not remove the antitheft guard plate - just loosen the retaining bolt enough to slide the support out.

Avar928

1986 right?

It's not bad at all. That was the first fix I did on my '86. Took around 3 hrs I think, going slow. Very straightforward just be careful not to break the window.

NC928S4

This was the first repair I had to do when the car rolled off the trailer. I delayed the repair for a few weeks but grew increasingly embarrassed "humping" the door mostly in public parking lots to get it to open.

I found excellent instructions after googling because I had not yet discovered this forum. The key is to take your time. I discovered all kinds of broken stuff during the procedure which made things more interesting and time consuming. The first one will test your patience, the second will go twice as fast. In retrospect the door handle repair is a right of passage and way easier than the damn TT replacement.

Good luck.

WyattsRide

What's the reason the handles break? My driver's side door has been getting harder to open lately. Is there an adjustment that needs made (at the hinges or the lock strike) before the handle breaks?

Randy V

They break because the handle mechanism is made of cheap pot metal that gets fatigued by repeated cycles.

Sounds like you will be replacing your soon - hard opening is the typical symptom of a cracked assembly - no adjustment will forestall the inevitable.

After replacement the linkage can be shortened to allow the lock to release with a shorter handle travel.

WyattsRide

Not the answer I wanted to hear, but thanks anyways Randy. I guess I better give Roger a call.

Alan

Matt

https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...eferrerid=6055

Alan

928 at last

The security plate has to come out.....the lower bolt is the one you DO NOT remove...just loosen and slide the plate out...that bolt holds the interior door reinforcement in place, and from what I understand, once out, can be a real issue to get back in.

Just did my driver's side and it really wasn't that big a deal. The key is raising and lowering the window at the appropriate time.....

Followed an excellent write up I found here on the forum.